7 Reasons Why Not Being Likeable Will Hurt Your Career

Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? People simply prefer to work with and feel more comfortable doing business with people they like. There’s research behind this including an article by Harvard Business Review.

Well, how important is it to be likeable in order to progress you career? Will being unlikeable actually hurt your prospects? Let’s discuss!



This isn’t really something people think of when it comes to planning a successful career path. But in order to get ahead professionally, get more promotions and benefits, and also make more money, likeability is important.

If you’re not sure how this pans out, keep reading!

1. Likeable And Incompetent vs. Unlikeable And Competent

As counterintuitive as it may sound, people see unlikeable people as less competent. It’s time to put an end to the notion that skating by on your incredible IQ alone will get you ahead in your career. It won’t. You require emotional intelligence because that can play a major role in your success. Good social skills at the workplace really matter no matter how skilled, intelligent, or competent you may be.

According to new research, the way people value our competence is whether we are likeable.

2. Get Hired Faster By Being Likeable

Likable people tend to find work faster, acquire useful information from others more efficiently, and even have their mistakes or shortcomings forgiven. A study published in The Wall Street Journal where 133 managers were researched by the University of Massachusetts revealed that if an auditor is a likable individual and offers a well-organised argument, then managers are more likely to comply with his recommendations – even if they disagree with his feedback and the auditor does not have enough supporting evidence.

Interesting, to say the least!

3. Make It To The Top

If you’re on your way to climbing the corporate ladder, then it’s quite likely that someone believed in you and took a chance on you early in your career, investing in you and seeing you grow. Newsflash: they did it not out of the kindness of their heart but because they found you likeable. For a fact, corporate people and businesspeople don’t invest in people they don’t like. Of course, they may continue to hire them based on their results, but if someone is willing to invest time and effort into growing as well as mentoring you, they have to like you first, right?  Food for thought...

We’re willing to bet that where you are today has been influenced by you likeability ... or maybe lack of it?

4. Increase Likeability, Get Better And More Job Offers

Zhao and Liden conducted a study in 2010 where they reviewed how interns cleverly used ingratiation and self-promotion to increase their chances of securing a job offer. Those who behaved in ways that increased their likeability were actually 55% more likely to receive a job offer. The study also demonstrated how ingratiation and self-promotion has a much stronger influence on interns receiving offers compared to their actual performance or abilities. Refer to point number one – we rest our case!

5. Great Leadership, Low Likeability

Many leaders today tend to project their strength, competence, and credentials quite well, although that is’t necessarily the soundest of approaches. And here’s why:

Leaders who project strength and authority before building trust tend to elicit fear in their workforce, along with a plethora of other dysfunctional behaviours – this is according to a 2013 article written for Harvard Business Review where the authors cite research done by Zenger and Folkmana who conducted a study involving 51,836 leaders.

It was discovered that just 27 of these leaders were rated in the bottom quartile likeability-wise and in the top quartile leadership effectiveness-wise. This raises an interesting point: the chances of an unlikable or strongly disliked manager which may be considered for a leadership position are, on average, just 1 in 2,000.

6. One And The Same, Or Are They?

Many times, you may have observed how two similarly qualified individuals apply for the same job. In each situation, the one to get promoted is typically the one who is more likeable. And, that’s just the way it goes, whether we talk about offices and businesses in the UK, US, or anywhere else.

Think about this from your perspective and experiences: if you were given the choice, would you work and collaborate with someone you like, or someone you liked very little or not at all? Or, for that matter, someone you liked a little vs. someone you liked a lot? You will surely choose the latter, there’s no question about it!

We’re just wired to accept people we like more readily than those we don’t.

7. Likeability – The Art Of Social Interaction

Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, likeability is a crucial social skill, one that really counts in terms of career growth. Think about a public speaker delivering a really persuasive and thought-provoking speech.  If this speaker has already practiced and honed social skills to build likeability, they’re not only easier to understand and like more, but also easier to connect with.  If they haven’t, well, draw your own conclusions.

Conclusion: How To Be More Likeable!

Be friendly, be relevant, be empathetic, be real – these are some of the traits we can think of off the top of our head when it comes to being a likeable individual. These traits are a great place to start with.

And if you’re interested, we have a likeability test where you can see where you stand, and download a personalized report which gives you points for action. It’s free, it’s anonymous and it takes about three minutes. You might like to take a look, and use it as a starting point in your journey to more success!